'There is little hope they will survive': Two Russian climbers injured, one missing in Pakistan avalanche

Les alpinistes ont disparu dans le massif du Gasherbrum au Pakistan. EPA – KARAR HAIDERI

Two Russian climbers were seriously injured and another is missing after being caught in an avalanche in the mountains of Pakistan, the country's mountaineering association said on Monday, August 19.

A rope team of five Russians trying to recover the body of a fellow Russian who fell to his death last year on Gasherbrum IV (7,925 meters) was caught in a snow slide at an altitude of 6,000 meters on Saturday, the source said.

Two of them were able to reach the base camp the same day but two others remained at the scene of the tragedy, seriously injured, and the leader of the rope team has disappeared. "The condition of the injured is critical and there is little hope that they will survive", Karar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told AFP on Monday.

A rescue group comprising one of the Russians who managed to completely descend the mountain and four Pakistani porters was to be dropped off by helicopter at the base camp, Akhtar Shigri, a police official in Skardu, a mountain resort.

17th highest peak in the world

“Today (Monday), an army helicopter left Skardu airbase for Gasherbrum IV to rescue Russian climbers who were victims of an avalanche”, Shigri said. “The weather is clear. “We hope they will be rescued today,” he added.

Gasherbrum IV is the 17th highest peak in the world and is part of the Karakoram range, which includes the mighty K2, the second highest peak on the planet after Everest. Five foreign climbers and at least two Pakistanis have died in Pakistan's mountains during this year's summer climbing season.